Increase demand and sustained use

There is demand for female condoms. Many successful country programmes have shown that once people are educated and properly informed about use, benefit and fun of female condoms, they start buying and using them. For example the Zimbabwe programme of Population Services International, the programmes in big US cities, and the UAFC programmes in Nigeria and Cameroon, show that there is a demand for female condoms.

In the period 2009-2011 4,285,179 number of condoms were being sold and distributed in the designated areas of Cameroon and Nigeria.

The large scale country programmes are implemented by a set of local actors: a combination of civil society organizations, the government, UN-agencies and the private sector.

For the period 2013-2015 the aim is to increase these numbers and to focus on sustained users, what makes people incorporate female condoms in the method mix.

These results show the importance (like with any new method) of education and awareness raising. The experiences of female condom programmes can be used as an example for other new methods, especially other multi purpose prevention methods.

UAFC is also mapping the possibilities to start in other countries, to give more people the choice to use female condoms as a safe and pleasurable prevention and protection method.